First read the hobbit age11 and LOTR age 13.was instantly hooked and just fell in love with the whole thing,characters,language,imagary and depth of history.it was probably LOTR that taught me how powerful the written word can be.fantastic use of language to create everything from cosy homely places to hellish death filled places and everywhere in between.

Favorite Tolkien character:

Gandalf the grey.he's the heart of all that goes on.brilliantly written and superbly brought to life by Ian mckellan.the definitive wizard and a character that will endure as much as anything created by Dickens or even Shakespeare.